PISCATAWAY – Rutgers took the lead on a touchdown, the celebratory cannon inside the stadium was fired and then the ominous voice boomed over the public address system: There is a penalty marker on the field.

What’s worse? It happened twice.

Rutgers had two go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdowns taken off the scoreboard by penalties and committed three turnovers Saturday, and found it all to be too much to overcome in a 37-34 loss to Washington State that overshadowed an all-world performance by Janarion Grant.

“It's disappointing,” coach Kyle Flood said. “The players who got called for those penalties are experienced guys. But I think the turnovers, to me, are an even bigger factor.

“Now, you get penalties that take away touchdowns and that's a huge, huge impact on the game, but the turnovers are the first place I look.”

A depleted secondary couldn’t make the one more stop that it needed as Washington State quarterback Luke Falk completed his 47th pass and reached 478 yards by throwing the winning touchdown pass with 13 seconds remaining.

“We were feeling good,” safety Anthony Cioffi said. “We just needed to pull through at the end. We let little mental errors determine the game.”

Grant scored on a 100-yard kick return and a 55-yard punt return in the fourth quarter, but it was more about his one touchdown that did not count in front of 46,536 at High Point Solutions Stadium.

Josh Hicks had a go-ahead 21-yard touchdown run taken away by a holding penalty against offensive lineman Chris Muller and Grant had a go-ahead 29-yard touchdown catch taken away by an offensive pass interference penalty against halfback Justin Goodwin.

Hicks fumbled on the play after his score was erased. Rutgers punted after losing Grant’s score.

“It’s a shame,” Muller said. “Penalties are drive-killers, especially when we get the ball moving like that. We have to keep our heads up and keep moving forward. The refs make the right calls. They are not out to get anyone.”

Even with some lost yardage, Grant set a new school-record with 339 all-purpose yards. He already was on the way to a big game before his kick return touchdown made it 27-23 early in a fourth quarter that saw the teams combine for 39 points.

When he electrified the stadium with a 55-yard punt return with 145 seconds to go to give Rutgers a 34-30 lead, it seemed like the 11 penalties for 100 yards was going to be an afterthought.

“A play from a great player like that, and the energy in the stadium as high as it was, there was no doubt in my mind that you are going to win the game,” wide receiver Leonte Carroo said. “That’s why you can’t celebrate until the clock says zero.”

Instead a defense that gave the illusion of control at times despite the stats broke at the worst possible moment. Washington State drove 90 yards in 10 plays and converted a fourth down – its first on four attempts – to steal a victory and revenge for last season’s loss in Seattle.

Washington State outgained Rutgers 559-402, as Falk finished 47-for-66 passing, with completions on his first 13 attempts.

The latest operator of coach Mike Leach’s patented Air Raid offense, Falk set records for completions, attempts and passing yards in a game played at Rutgers. Receiver Gabe Marks, who had 14 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown, set a record for receptions in a game at Rutgers.

“You understand when you play a team like this that they are going to move the ball,” Flood said. “They are going to have passing yards. That's part of their system. But if you didn't disrupt the quarterback, it's really hard.”

In danger of falling out of contention at 20-6 midway through the third quarter, Rutgers got a touchdown run from Robert Martin and a touchdown catch from Matt Flanagan.

Quarterback Chris Laviano threw one of his best passes of the day, a bullet to Carroo, for a two-point conversion, tying the score at 20-20 and atoning for a blocked point-after try following Martin’s touchdown.

That’s when the teams began trading jabs, with Grant responding to Washington State’s go-ahead field goal by returning a kick 100 yards for a 27-23 lead.

Unfazed, Falk threw a touchdown pass with pinpoint accuracy to Marks, who held on after a big hit from Davon Jacobs in the corner of the end zone.

Rutgers lost two touchdowns before the next points were scored.

“Unfortunately the situations we were in were really long and difficult low-percentage situations,” Laviano said. “You never want to be in those situations as an offense.”

But, with five defensive backs playing in their first or second career game, Rutgers, which had its secondary depth depleted by the dismissal of four players before the season opener, figured out how to play containment most of the way, giving Grant his chance to dazzle.

Laviano finished 23-of-29 for 204 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble.

Grant had a 21-yard carry and five catches for 65 yards as part of breaking Terrell Willis’ all-purpose yardage school record from 1993.